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There’s a saying in journalism that nobody reads newspapers on Christmas Day because they are incredibly busy. But just in case you have a moment to spare, I would like to recommend a movie that’s perfect fit for the Christmas season.  

I’m referring to “Invictus,” a film about Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, who spent 27 years in prison for opposing the country’s separatist racial policy.

Released from prison at age 71 on Feb. 11, 1990,  Mandela was ready to re-start life, not retire from it. Amazingly, he emerged from  behind bars on notorious Robben Island not as a bitter man but a forgiving one. He refused to let anger, hatred and vengeance dominate him.

“Invictus” is not a so-called “Christmas movie,” but I can think of no film in recent memory that better personifies the themes of Christmas: compassion, reconciliation, peace.

The movie is directed by Clint Eastwood and stars Morgan Freeman as Mandela and Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar, the captain of the Springboks, South Africa’s national rugby team.

The Springboks are loved by white South Africans and loathed by black South Africans. Blacks regarded the Springboks as symbols of white separatism and oppression. They unfailingly cheered for England or any other team rather than the reviled Springboks.

Based on John Carlin’s book, “Playing the Enemy,” the story is set in 1994-95 shortly after Mandela was elected the first black president of South Africa.

A rugby fan himself, Mandela decided to use sports to achieve a political goal. He thought the Springboks could be used to help unify a dangerously divided South Africa after whites lost control of the country.   

To the horror of his black supporters and the dismay of white South Africans, Mandela summoned Pienaar to have tea with him. He told Pienaar that he wanted the Springboks to win rugby’s World Cup. That was a tall order. Despite their hordes of white supporters, the team had been losing more games than winning.

If this story sounds thin and unworthy of Oscar attention, remember that I’ve merely sketched the story, not fleshed it out. As for rugby, you need not know a thing about it (I don’t) to appreciate this movie.

The centerpiece of the film is Mandela, a moral beacon at a transformative time in his country’s history. Many whites feared he would use his presidency as payback to those who perpetrated decades of oppression against black South Africans. Instead, Mandela preached reconciliation, not revenge. 

Those who know Mandela, including American journalists who covered him during his presidency (1994-1999), say that Freeman’s portrayal is a dead-ringer, from his stooped shoulders, his unsteady walk, his halting speech, his engaging smile.

Making matters better, Freeman, who is 72, bears a striking resemblance to the tall, stately Mandela. (The latter was 75 when the episode in the film occurred.) 

No doubt Mandela thought Freeman was right for the role, too. When Mandela met Freeman a few years ago, the South African leader told him that if a movie is made about his life, he wanted Freeman to play him. Freeman does so with perfection.

The title of the film, “Invictus,” refers to the poem by William Ernest Henley, the 19th-century poet. I remember studying it in school and, presumably, so did Mandela.

In the film, he tells Pienaar, the rugby captain, that when he became overcome with despair as a prisoner on Robben Island, he quoted “Invictus” to boost his spirits. He was inspired by its famous lines: “My head is bloodied but unbowed,” (for) “I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul.” 

Now 91, Mandela is frail and seldom appears in public. He is the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize and more world honors than can be counted.

And presumably he still has his green Springbok cap and jersey that he wore that glorious day in 1995 when the Springboks played in the World Cup and helped unify South Africa.

Merry Christmas!

Rosemary Roberts writes a column on alternate Fridays. E-mail: Rmroberts@triad.rr.com